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Consultation
Chief Minister’s Department
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Dormant Bank Accounts
Summary:
A law has been prepared that would enable dormant bank accounts to be used for good causes. The aim of this consultation is to invite comments on the draft law before it is submitted to the States of Jersey for debate.
Date published: Closing date:
21 July 2015 30 September 2015
Supporting documents attached:
Dormant Bank Accounts (Jersey) Law 201-
How we will use your information The information you provide will be processed for the purpose of consultation. The Department of the Chief Minister will use your information in accordance with the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005 and the Freedom of Information Jersey) Law 2011. Please note that we may quote or publish responses to this consultation but we will not publish the names and addresses of individuals. If you do not want any of your response to be published, you should clearly mark it
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as confidential. Confidential responses will be included in any summary of statistical information received and views expressed.
Outline of consultation
The Assistant Chief Minister invites responses on the draft Dormant Accounts
(Jersey) Law 201- (the “Dormant Accounts Law”). The aim of the Dormant
Accounts Law is to transfer balances in “dormant” bank accounts (i.e. accounts
where contact has been lost with the customer for 15 years) from banks to a
central fund called the Jersey Reclaim Fund. The Jersey Reclaim Fund will be
administrated by government and used to support a number of good and charitable
causes in the local community.
The Dormant Accounts Law does not act to disadvantage the customer because
they can still ask for their money back from the Jersey Reclaim Fund (via their
bank) at any time. The bank will pay the customer their money and ask for the sum
back from the Jersey Reclaim Fund.
Ways to respond
This consultation can be responded to electronically by the following link:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2242588/Dormant-Bank-Accounts
Write to: James Mews
Director, Finance Industry Development, Financial Services Unit
Chief Minster’s Department
5th Floor, Cyril Le Marquand House
The Parade, St Helier,
Jersey JE48UL
Telephone: +44 (0) 1534 440413
Email: [email protected]
Responses from the finance industry may be sent to Jersey Finance at the address
below:
Write to: William Byrne Head of Technical, Jersey Finance Limited 4th Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House
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48-50 Esplanade St Helier Jersey JE2 3QB
Telephone: +44 (0) 1534 836021 Email: [email protected]
Responses sent to Jersey Finance will be shared with Government unless the respondent indicates that they wish to remain anonymous.
This consultation paper has been sent to the Public Consultation Register.
Feedback on this consultation
We value your feedback on how well we consult or seek evidence. If you have
any comments on the process of this consultation (as opposed to the issues
raised) please contact [email protected]
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Consultation on Dormant Accounts Law 201-
Introduction
1. The Assistant Chief Minister invites responses on the draft text of a
Dormant Accounts (Jersey) Law 201- (the “Dormant Accounts Law”). The
aim of the Dormant Accounts Law is to enable balances standing to the
credit of “dormant” bank accounts (i.e. accounts where contact has been
lost with the customer or where no instructions have been received from the
customer for a period of at least 15 years) to be transferred from the banks
to a central fund called the Jersey Reclaim Fund from which monies can be
paid out to support a number of “good causes” in the local community.
2. This scheme also has advantages for banks in Jersey as it allows them to
remove liabilities from their balance sheets which cannot be utilised.
However, the Dormant Accounts Law does not act to disadvantage the
customer because the rights of the customer are preserved. The customer
can still make a claim for repayment from the Jersey Reclaim Fund (via his
bank) at any time. Importantly such persons do not have to find out
information about the Jersey Reclaim fund or to seek new contact details.
Instead they can contact their bank and their bank will repay them their
funds. The bank will in turn be entitled to ask for the monies paid out to the
customer from the Jersey Reclaim Fund to ensure that the bank is not out
of pocket.
History of the Dormant Accounts Legislation
3. Dormant account schemes already exist in a number of jurisdictions,
including the UK, Ireland and the Cayman Islands. The introduction of a
dormant accounts scheme is also underway in the Isle of Man.
4. In December 2008 a consultation exercise was commenced in respect of a
proposed Dormant Accounts Law. The overall response to the
consultation was positive but due to other pressures, the proposal was put
to one side for a time. It was also the case that the banking industry
favoured moving in tandem with Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Meetings
have been held with the other Crown Dependencies in order to see if a co-
ordinated timetable could be achieved. However, because the other
jurisdictions were at a different stage in terms of developing such legislation
to Jersey a decision was made to progress the legislation in Jersey.
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5. The Government of Jersey will continue to work with the other islands to try
to standardise any regime across all three jurisdictions. A final draft law is
now ready to be considered for adoption.
Summary of key aspects of the Dormant Accounts Law
The Objectives of the Jersey Reclaim Fund
6. The Dormant Accounts Law establishes the Jersey Reclaim Fund as a
special fund within the meaning of Article 3 of the Public Finances (Jersey)
Law 2005. The responsibilities, duties and functions to run the dormant
accounts scheme are given to the Chief Minister under Article 9 and Part 4.
The responsibilities and duties focus on three areas. Firstly, to ensure that
the Jersey Reclaim Fund makes payments to meet reclaims by customers;
secondly to manage the Jersey Reclaim Fund appropriately so that it is able
to pay claims to customers; and finally to distribute monies to good and
charitable causes as set out in Part 4 of the Dormant Accounts Law.
7. As the scheme is new to Jersey, it is thought appropriate to limit the scope
of the Dormant Accounts Law to banking deposits and other limited classes
and then consider whether to broaden the categories at a later date.
Therefore, Article 2 of the Dormant Accounts Law covers both personal and
non-personal deposit accounts (i.e. accounts held for entities such as
companies, partnerships and trusts) regardless of the residence of the
customer.
Precious metals and Precious Stones
8. There is a small extension to the principles regarding coverage. Article 2
applies the scheme to precious metal and precious stones (but not
jewellery) held in dormant safe custody arrangements, as well as such
other accounts as are prescribed by Order. The decision whether to
transfer such assets would be at the option of the bank (i.e. a bank may
choose to transfer the proceeds of sale of precious metals and precious
stones to the Jersey Reclaim Fund rather than being compelled to do so by
the terms of the statute).
9. There is a precedent for the inclusion of precious metals and stones in the
Cayman Islands dormant accounts scheme (under their Dormant Accounts
Law 2010). It is thought that it would be helpful, in order to maximise the
benefits of the scheme, for the Jersey legislation to enable Jersey banks to
have the option of closing dormant safe custody facilities in which precious
metals or precious stones are held.
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10. Under the Cayman Islands Law, the scheme extends to “the cash from, or
proceeds of sale of precious metals and precious stones (excluding
jewellery) from, safe deposit boxes upon which the lease or rental period
has expired”. Jewellery is excluded because the sentimental value
attached to it could be significant and would be difficult to replicate in the
event of a reclaim.
11. Similarly research has not revealed any dormant account scheme which
extends more generally to custody accounts. This may be due to the risks
involved. Precious metals or precious stones which have been sold can
generally be replaced by another item of identical weight and quality.
However, if the custody account contains shares and shares in a specific
company are sold, there may be circumstances in which identical shares
cannot be repurchased in the market. It is also possible that there may be
more significant variations in the value of shares than precious metals or
precious stones and this raises questions as to the exposure of a scheme
to claims for repayment of the value at the date of the reclaim. Accordingly,
it is not proposed to include custody accounts in the scheme for the time
being. However, there is the ability to extend the Scheme by Order and it is
possible for custody accounts to be prescribed at a later date.
Question 1: Should precious stones and precious metal custody accounts be
included as accounts captured by the Dormant Accounts Law?
Question 2: Should any other types of accounts be captured by the Dormant
Accounts Law at this initial stage?
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Test for Dormancy
12. Article 5 states the test concerning whether an account is dormant. It
provides that an account will be dormant if no transactions have been
carried out by or on the instructions of the customer in relation to the
account for 15 years. This test follows the test set out in the United
Kingdom scheme.
13. The proposal to adopt a 15 year dormancy period is consistent with the UK
legislation. The research carried out in the UK indicates that a very small
percentage of people reclaim monies from a scheme once 15 years has
passed. A shorter period would lead to an increased possibility of claims
for repayment. Accordingly, allowing banks to apply a different (shorter)
period would be likely to cause inefficiencies for the Jersey Reclaim Fund
by leading to increased numbers of reclaims and administrative activity.
Therefore the draft legislation follows the UK precedent concerning the
length of time for an account to be considered dormant.
14. Accounts will be included in the scheme even if their period of dormancy
commenced prior to the introduction of the Law. However, transitional
provisions will allow banks time to update their systems where they do not
have adequate systems in place for such purposes. These transitional
provisions are considered further in this paper.
15. Article 5 contains an exception from the UK test for dormancy as a result of
the consultation on the principles of the proposed Dormant Accounts Law.
It is drafted to ensure that an account will not be considered dormant if the
bank holds other accounts for the same customer and there are
transactions on those accounts. Likewise, an exception for fixed term
accounts is set out in Article 5 so that the dormancy period for such
accounts will only begin at the end of the fixed term period. In the case of
fixed term periods that have a “roll over” facility the clock will start for the
test of dormancy at the end of the first period and at the time that the initial
fixed term ends.
16. “No-mail” accounts will be included in the scheme provided that they meet
the criteria for dormancy. Although “no-mail” accounts fall outside of the UK
dormant accounts regime they are included in the Irish scheme. The draft
in Jersey follows the Irish approach although it is thought that the number of
“no-mail” accounts is likely to be small, as it is understood that they do not
exist other than in exceptional circumstances. It is thought that the
administrative difficulties caused by special treatment being given to such
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accounts may be disproportionate to the benefits.
Question 3: Should the period of dormancy match the period of dormancy
in the UK?
Question 4: Should the definition of dormancy vary from the UK definition
by not including accounts if there are transactions on those accounts?
Question 5: Should “no-mail” accounts be included in the scheme?
Balance of an account
17. Article 3(1) provides that the balance of a customer’s account for the
purposes of the Dormant Accounts Law will be the amount owing to the
customer at that particular time after appropriate adjustments such as
interest due, fees and charges payable as at that date. Article 3(3) exempts
balances in accounts which are covered by security interests taken under
Jersey law over accounts. The reason for this exemption is that if an
account is subject to a security interest then the account may not be able to
be operated under the provisions of the security granted and therefore such
accounts should not be classed as dormant.
Transfer of balances and the Jersey Reclaim Fund
18. Article 6 provides for the mechanism for the transfer of the dormant
balances to the Jersey Reclaim Fund. The Jersey Reclaim Fund will be a
separate fund which, to minimise costs, will be held and managed (but not
distributed) by Treasury (see below for further details about the distribution
of the monies from the Jersey Reclaim Fund).
19. It is proposed that banks will transfer dormant balances to the Jersey
Reclaim Fund annually, in December of each year. Prior to the transfer
there is a process that needs to be undertaken in order to ensure that the
Minister has the opportunity to decide whether to decline deposits if
accepting them would cause difficulties. The Minister would normally agree
to all transfers and is only likely to decline such transfers if there are anti-
money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism or sanctions issues,
or exceptionally if a balance or series of balances are so large that they
would distort the profile of the dormant balances in the Jersey Reclaim
Fund.
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20. In such circumstances they could not be utilised for good causes because
of the risk that if the account holder were to reclaim the money there would
be insufficient sums in the Jersey Reclaim Fund to repay the balance (see
Article 6(7)).
21. Article 1 defines the end of each relevant year as 30 June. Article 6(1)
requires banks to notify the Minister within 3 months (by 30 September) of
the number and balances of dormant deposit accounts and a description of
other relevant accounts (which are currently limited to safe custody
accounts containing precious metal and precious stones).
22. Article 6(3) grants the power for the Minister to prescribe the form or
content of the notification return and, separately to this consultation paper,
discussion is taking place with the banks concerning the content of this
return. It is envisaged that the return should include a statement from the
bank that, except to the extent disclosed, it has no unresolved concerns
regarding money laundering or terrorist financing in respect of the balances
to be transferred and (to the best of its knowledge) none of the account
holders are individuals in respect of whom sanctions apply.
23. Under Article 6(5) the Minister may ask for more information from a bank
about the notified accounts and the bank must respond within 1 month to
the Minister’s enquiries. The Minister will then have until the 30 November
each year to decide if he wants to refuse to accept the transfer of the funds.
24. A question that was considered is what efforts should be made to contact
the customer and how such contact should be made. This is a complicated
issues. If the customer has not corresponded from the last known address
it may be the case that this address is out of date. However, this is not
always the case and the address may be the only contact details that a
customer has given the bank in order to enable the bank to make contact.
25. As a matter of policy it is considered appropriate to require each bank to
take some action to contact customers. While not a perfect solution, it is
considered appropriate to mandate that a bank attempts to contact the
customer one last time at the last known address in order to notify them that
the account is going to be transferred to the Jersey Reclaim Fund. This is a
de minimis process which is set out in Article 6(1)(c). The exact details and
depth of the search beyond this requirement is not specified in the
legislation and it is left to the banks to decide what is appropriate according
to the facts of each case.
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26. If the account holder notifies the bank during the notification process then
the account should not be considered dormant and should not be paid
across to the Minister. Article 6(6) gives a cut off time of 30 November in
each year for this notification to take place in order to allow the bank the
opportunity to pay across dormant accounts to the Jersey Reclaim Fund
during the month of December.
27. The process for reclaims from the Jersey Reclaim Fund is discussed further
below. It is proposed that all transfers will be made to the Fund on a gross
basis. It is understood from the experiences of the Reclaim Fund in the UK
that any “netting” could lead to accounting challenges as to whether
balances have been properly transferred and may not enable the bank to
remove the relevant account from its balance sheet.
Question 6: Should there be a requirement on a bank to send a notice to
the last known address, once an account is identified as dormant, in
order to attempt to protect customers, by notifying them that their
account is being transferred to the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
Non-sterling accounts
28. Government has considered is whether accounts that are held in currencies
other than pound sterling should be included in the scheme. As one of the
aims of the scheme is to maximise the monies that can be used for good
and charitable causes, it would appear appropriate to include such
accounts provided that the consequent currency risks can be managed.
Accordingly, Article 2(1)(a) does not limit the scope of the law only to
sterling accounts. But there is a practical issue concerning the ability to
manage non-sterling currencies in the Jersey Reclaim Fund. It has been
indicated by the Treasury Department (who it is proposed will manage the
Jersey Reclaim Fund on a day to day basis) that it can only hold limited
currencies under the agreed mandate and that trading on multiple accounts
would reduce economies of scale.
29. Accordingly, it is proposed that the Minister should accept only pound
sterling balances. Accordingly, Article 7(2) states that if a dormant account
consists of money in a currency other than sterling the banks should
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convert the balance into sterling before the transfer at the market mid-rate
on the day of the conversion.
30. An issue that follows this proposal is how to manage fluctuations in value
following the transfer to the Jersey Reclaim Fund when the monies in a
foreign currency balance transfers are held in sterling. The effect of
fluctuations in the exchange rate could be positive or negative. An account
holder that wishes to reclaim their balance is unlikely to complain if the sum
is increased as a result of the currency fluctuation but might complain if the
sum is decreased as a result. A policy decision is required over whether
the risks arising from currency fluctuation should be borne by the account
holder or the Jersey Reclaim Fund.
31. It is considered appropriate to protect the Jersey Reclaim Fund against the
risk of currency fluctuations rather than the customer. The relevant
accounts have been left dormant for 15 years and the account holder has
not responded to a notification of the imminent transfer of their account to
the Jersey Reclaim Fund. However, in such circumstances it also seems
appropriate for the banks to take reasonable steps to make the customer
aware of the risks in converting dormant account balances into pounds
sterling.
32. This paper has previously referred to the practical difficulties in
communicating with an account holder of a dormant account. The Dormant
Accounts Law requires the bank to notify the account holder at the last
known address given by the customer as the address for communication.
Therefore, in line with this policy it is considered appropriate that the
notification sent by the banks to their dormant account holders immediately
before such accounts are transferred should set out the risks of conversion
into pounds sterling where an account is a non-sterling account.
33. Article 8(6) implements the aim of protecting the Jersey Reclaim Fund by
stating that the customer is only entitled to reclaim payment of the value in
pounds sterling as at the date of conversion under Article 7(2). Article 8(4)
also states that customers will not be entitled to interest in respect of a
transfer of the balance or part of the balance of an account to the Jersey
Reclaim Fund unless the Minister prescribes otherwise.
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34. The consequence of these provisions are that, if a claim is made for
repayment in respect of a foreign currency balance, the bank acting as the
agent of the Jersey Reclaim Fund will only be liable to repay the equivalent
amount in pounds sterling following the conversion and transfer to the
Jersey Reclaim Fund.
Question 7: Should non-sterling accounts be included in the scheme?
Question 8: Should the Jersey Reclaim Fund, the bank or the account
holder bear the risk of currency fluctuation?
Compulsory or Optional
35. One of the issues considered was whether the scheme should be
compulsory or optional for the transfer of dormant accounts to the Jersey
Reclaim Fund.
36. Arguments could be advanced that it should be up to each bank to decide
whether to utilise the scheme as the monies have been placed with the
bank not the States of Jersey. Arguments in favour of this position include
that there may be situations where the historic nature of documentation
coupled with bank mergers means that a bank is unable to ascertain
whether an account is dormant or the extent of the terms of the account.
Others may consider that the banks will do “the right thing” with monies that
they are not able to utilise for profit and, accordingly, that there is no need
to make the scheme compulsory. Such an approach would also allow each
bank to decide on the optimal point of timing in phasing in IT systems in
order to track dormant accounts in accordance with the legislation rather
than different policies that have been adopted by each bank.
37. However, the counter argument is that there is a strong public interest in
ensuring that the scheme is effective and has the greatest degree of
coverage in order to maximise the amount of funds that are placed into the
Jersey Reclaim Fund. As the monies raised and placed into the scheme
are to be utilised for good causes it would seem to be at odds with public
policy if such a scheme were not to be made compulsory in the absence of
compelling reasons. Having a compulsory scheme would also negate the
risk that banks would delay putting the necessary infrastructure in place for
longer.
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38. Accordingly the Dormant Accounts Law makes the Jersey scheme
compulsory, subject to appropriate transitional provisions, so all banks
registered by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for the conduct of
deposit-taking business will be required to participate. Accordingly, Article
6(8) contains the key provision that a bank must transfer such part of a
dormant account that is an account under Art 2(1)(a) namely, an account
held by a bank as part of its activity of accepting deposits.
Question 9: Should payment of balances into the Jersey Reclaim Fund
scheme be compulsory or optional?
Question 10: If optional, do you think that there is a risk that the sum of
the balances transferred will be less than if the scheme was compulsory?
The interface with the customer
39. The Jersey Reclaim Fund will be set up with a minimal cost base in order to
maximise the monies paid to beneficiaries. It is proposed that the scheme
is run by the Chief Minister, his staff and well as utilising the experience and
resources of the Treasury and Resources department but that it will have
no solely dedicated personnel or independent infrastructure. The reasons
for this proposal include that it is appropriate for banks to maintain the
relationship with their own customers. Accordingly, the legislation is drafted
to enable each bank to act as the agent of the Jersey Reclaim Fund in
respect of matters such as customer relationship management, record-
keeping, customer claims for repayment and any dispute or complaint from
the customer (including any legal and regulatory compliance aspects).
40. For a customer who wishes to reclaim the monies placed with a bank they
will need to contact their bank and fill in the requisite forms. On being
satisfied that the person is the owner of the account and that there are no
legal or regulatory reasons to the contrary, the bank will restore access to
the banking facility or transfer the monies to the customer. The bank will
then be able to reclaim the funds that were previously transferred to the
Jersey Reclaim Fund.
41. This relationship between the bank and the scheme is facilitated in the UK
through individually negotiated agency agreements signed by each bank. It
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seems that such a process is lengthy and costly. Accordingly, the Dormant
Accounts Law is designed to enable a simpler and more efficient approach.
42. Article 10 of the Dormant Accounts Law sets out the duties of the bank in
respect of the monies transferred to the Fund. Article 10(1) states that the
bank must retain records, receive claims for payment, verify claims,
calculate the amount that must be paid, determine entitlement, and pay out
the amount determined.
43. Article 10(4) enables the Minister to make further provision by Order for the
purposes of achieving the functioning of this system. The requirements set
out in Article 10 are supplemented by Article 18(1) which states that a bank
acts as the agent of the Minister in respect of claims for repayments out of
the Jersey Reclaim Fund, client relationships, record keeping, and the
fulfilment of any legal or regulatory obligations arising out of a bank’s client
relationship.
44. Article 18(2) allows more detailed terms of the relationship between the
bank and the Jersey Reclaim Fund to be set out in an Order. The terms of
the Order will be subject to consultation with the banking industry prior to its
implementation. Having legislation that sets out the key terms of all the
agency arrangements will avoid each bank having to enter into separate
agency agreements with the Minister (on behalf of the Jersey Reclaim
Fund) thereby reducing costs and ensuring a consistent approach where
such is appropriate.
45. Article 18(5) states that the agency arrangement will be binding on any
liquidator or trustee in bankruptcy and, on any successor of the bank. In
order to preserve the ability of a customer to go to the liquidator or agent of
a bank that is being closed or has closed and to reclaim their monies,
Article 14(5) requires the bank to appoint an agent in Jersey to deal with
such matters including record-keeping for a 10 year period after the
completion of the closure.
46. After 10 years has passed cases will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Where a branch has simply closed in Jersey the customer can still contact
the head office overseas to seek repayment. Where the legal entity has
been dissolved the Minister still retains the power to pay out claims where
there is sufficient evidence produced by the customer.
Question 11: Can respondents think of any scenarios where issues may
arise through the bank acting as the agent of the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
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Question 12: Are the terms of the agency agreement sufficient and
comprehensive for the purpose of protecting the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
Liability to the customer
47. Article 8 provides that when a dormant account balance is transferred to the
Jersey Reclaim Fund, the liability for repayment of the balance transfers to
the Jersey Reclaim Fund. This general principle is subject to the fact that
the bank will continue to have the administrative responsibility for dealing
with and settling claims in the first instance. Article 8(2) provides for the
transfer of the liability and clarifies that there is no longer a debt owed by
the bank to the customer. This provision allows the bank to derecognise
the liability for balance sheet purposes.
48. The consequences of Article 8 include that the Jersey Reclaim Fund will
only be liable to repay to the customer the amount that it receives from the
bank (other than monies received in respect of precious stones and metals
where the bank is permitted to be reimbursed for the reasonable costs of
sale). If, for example, the bank has miscalculated the amount transferred or
if there is a dispute with the customer as to the amount of interest that
should have been applied, then any amount exceeding the balance
transferred to the Fund will remain the liability of the bank.
49. Experience gained from other jurisdictions demonstrates that there may be
disputes concerning what interest rate is applicable to a dormant account
balance. To avoid such occurring, Article 8(3) states that customers will not
be entitled to interest unless the Minister specifies that a particular rate is
applicable by way of Order to the balances post-transfer. In the absence of
an Order being passed, interest will not accrue on balances transferred to
the Jersey Reclaim Fund. As the terms of many accounts will permit the
bank to reduce the rate of interest to zero after a period of time it would be
a justifiable to set the rate of interest payable by the Jersey Reclaim Fund
at zero. That would permit the proceeds of the balance post transfer to be
utilised for good causes maximising the benefit that could be gained from
dormant accounts.
Question 13: Is it reasonable that the level of interest to be added on
dormant accounts after transfer to the Jersey Reclaim Fund is set at zero and
the proceeds used for good causes? If not, what is an appropriate level of
interest?
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Timing of Transfers
50. Article 6 of the Dormant Accounts Law sets out the timing of transfers to the
Jersey Reclaim Fund. The year end is set as 30 June in each year. Within
3 months of the year end, namely by 30 September, banks must give notice
to the Minister of the number and balance of each dormant account. In
respect of other types of dormant accounts, Article 6(1)(b) states that banks
must give a description of each account to the Minister in order to ensure
that the Minister is aware of the value that is being held in other relevant
types of dormant account. Unless the Minister prescribes other types of
account, this provision applies to custody accounts holding precious metals
and precious stones and the figure given may be an estimate of the current
value or the last known valuation.
51. In this same 3 month period, under Article 6(1)(c), banks must give notice to
the customers with dormant accounts that their account has become
dormant in order to give them a chance to claim the amount prior to
transfer.
52. After this 3 month window to allow banks the time to notify customers and
calculate which accounts are dormant, Article 6(6) gives the Minister 2
months to decide if he wishes to refuse to accept the transfers. There may
be good reasons why it is not in the best interests of the scheme to do so,
for example, because of high individual balances. The issue with high
balances is that if they constitute a large part of the Jersey Reclaim Fund
then there is the prospect that they cannot sensibly be utilised for good
causes. The reason is due to the comparative size of the balances. If large
balances were to be reclaimed there might not be enough monies in the
Jersey Reclaim Fund to meet the demands.
53. The Minister may have further questions concerning the accounts held and,
if further questions are asked of a bank, Article 6(5) gives the bank a further
month to respond. Following the end of the periods of notification and then
for the Minister to decide whether to refuse the balances, the bank has the
month of December to pay monies across to the Minister under Article 6(8).
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Question 14: Are the time scales proposed reasonable in order to allow
customers to contact their bank and for banks to process the
administration of transfers?
Question 15: Should the banks be required to report balances in relation
to precious metals and precious stones? If not, then please give
reasons?
Customer reclaims
54. As set out above, it is proposed that customer claims will be handled by the
banks acting as the agent of the Jersey Reclaim Fund. This policy is
consistent with the schemes operating in the UK and Ireland.
55. For administrative simplicity, Articles 11 and 12 have the effect that banks
will make an annual claim for reimbursement of the amounts reclaimed by
customers from the Jersey Reclaim Fund. This will be within the same 3
month period in which they notify the Jersey Reclaim Fund of the accounts
that have become dormant in the last year. It is thought that such a
repayment process should not normally give rise to any significant adverse
impact on the banks as the amounts involved are likely to be de minimis
from a balance sheet perspective.
56. A bank will, however, be able to seek reimbursement of a single customer
claim of a particularly large amount or a particularly large number of
individual customer claims at any time. In such cases, reimbursement may
be made outside of the annual cycle at the discretion of the Minister, as set
out in Article 12(4).
Question 16: Is the proposed mechanism for the Jersey Reclaim Fund to
reimburse the banks sufficiently practical?
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Distribution of monies from the Jersey Reclaim Fund
57. Article 19 of the Dormant Accounts Law sets out the proposed uses of the
Jersey Reclaim Fund. The provisions permit monies to be used to cover
the costs of the Commissioner of Charities and other related expenses
under the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014. Further, they permit monies from
the Jersey Reclaim Fund to be distributed in shares to be set by Order for
the following purposes:
a. arts;
b. sport;
c. the heritage of Jersey;
d. charitable purposes; and
e. purposes connected with health, education or the environment.
58. To achieve efficiencies it is envisaged that the Minister will not generally
distribute to good and charitable causes directly. Instead the Minister may
distribute the monies to designated community organisations who will make
grants from monies provided by the Jersey Reclaim Fund. In such cases,
the Minister will require distributing bodies to report each year on the
entities who have received funding and the relevant amounts.
59. Each year under Article 9(2) the Minister must prepare an annual report on
the operation of the Dormant Accounts Law.
Question 17: Do you agree with the proposed use of the funds generated by
the Dormant Accounts Law? If not please state what you would suggest as
an alternative. For example, should the funds be divided proportionally or
thematically sector by sector?
Timing and Transitional Provisions
60. Following the end of this consultation period, the next steps are for the
responses to be analysed and the final amendments made to the Dormant
Accounts Law. Then the final legislation will be lodged in late 2015,
debated by the States of Jersey and, if passed, will be sent for approval by
the Privy Council which is likely to be in early 2016.
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61. Article 29 sets out transitional provisions in order to give a reasonable
period of time for banks to develop systems if they do not already have
systems that can identify dormant accounts under the proposed definition in
the Dormant Accounts Law. For example, a bank may have a system that
recognises accounts as dormant after a shorter period of time than 15
years. If that system cannot flag up accounts that have been dormant for
15 years without a manual check, then the provisions permit the bank to
wait for the remainder of the 15 years to pass before the balances are
classed as dormant. For example, a bank may have a dormant period of 7
years in its internal systems and those systems may not be able to identify
the exact period of dormancy over 7 years for the dormant accounts. The
transitional provisions enable the bank to wait a further 8 years (15 years
minus the 7 years already recorded) until the accounts are classed as
dormant.
62. Where the bank has no computerised system in place that identifies
dormant accounts that are 15 years old then the transitional provisions give
the bank 5 years from the coming into force of Article 6 to build a system.
63. However, where a bank wishes to identify accounts as dormant and pass
them to the Jersey Reclaim Fund immediately once the Law comes into
force then this will be possible at the discretion of the Minister.
Question 18: Is the proposed timescale for banks to build systems too long,
too short or about right? If your answer is that the timescale is too long or
too short please state what length of time is considered appropriate?
Question 19: If you are a bank, please state:
a) What test do you currently apply in determining whether an account is
dormant? Please include the length of time that must pass in order for you
to class an account as dormant.
b) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there have been no transactions on each account for 15 years? If you
are able to produce such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then
please state what this period of time is.
c) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there has been no transactions on each account and no contact from
the clients holding those accounts for 15 years? If you are able to produce
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such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then please state what
this period of time is.
d) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there have been no transactions on each account and no activity on
another account held by the same customer for 15 years? If you are able to
produce such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then please state
what this period of time is.
e) If your answer to the first part of the question in either 19 b), 19 c) or 19 d)
is no, please state an estimate of the cost to amend your systems to be able
to produce the reports set out in b), c) and d) and the time that it would take
to implement such a change?
f) If there is any other information about your systems which would be
relevant to a decision on the proposed implementation time as set out in the
transitional provisions please give comments?
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Questions
Readers of the consultation paper are invited to give their comments on all
aspects of the draft of the Dormant Accounts Law.
Particular questions as stated above are:
Question 1: Should precious stones and precious metal custody accounts be
included as accounts captured by the Dormant Accounts Law?
Question 2: Should any other types of accounts be captured by the Dormant
Accounts Law at this initial stage?
Question 3: Should the period of dormancy match the period of dormancy in
the UK?
Question 4: Should the definition of dormancy vary from the UK definition by
not including accounts if there are transactions on those accounts?
Question 5: Should “no-mail” accounts be included in the scheme?
Question 6: Should there be a requirement on a bank to send letters to the
last known address, once an account is identified as dormant, in order to
attempt to protect customers by notifying them that their account is being
transferred to the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
Question 7: Should non-sterling accounts be included in the scheme?
Question 8: Should the Jersey Reclaim Fund, the bank or the account holder
bear the risk of currency fluctuation?
Question 9: Should payment of balances into the Jersey Reclaim Fund
scheme be compulsory or optional?
Question 10: If optional, do you think that there is a risk that the sum of the
balances transferred will be less than if the scheme was compulsory?
Question 11: Can respondents think of any scenarios where issues may arise
through the bank acting as the agent of the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
Question 12: Are the terms of the agency agreement sufficient and
comprehensive for the purpose of protecting the Jersey Reclaim Fund?
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Question 13: Is it reasonable that the level of interest to be added on
dormant accounts after transfer to the Jersey Reclaim Fund is set at zero and
the proceeds used for good causes? If not, what is an appropriate level of
interest?
Question 14: Are the time scales proposed appropriate to allow customers to
contact their bank and for banks to process the administration of transfers?
Question 15: Should the banks be required to report balances in relation to
precious metals and precious stones? If not, then please give reasons?
Question 16: Is the proposed mechanism for the Jersey Reclaim Fund to
reimburse the banks sufficiently practical?
Question 17: Do you agree with the proposed use of the funds generated by
the Dormant Accounts Law? If not please state what you would suggest as
an alternative. For example, should the funds be divided proportionally or
thematically sector by sector?
Question 18: Is the proposed timescale for banks to build systems too long,
too short or about right? If your answer is that the timescale is too long or
too short please state what length of time is considered appropriate?
Question 19: If you are a bank, please state:
a) What test do you currently apply in determining whether an account is
dormant? Please include the length of time that must pass in order for you
to class an account as dormant.
b) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there have been no transactions on each account for 15 years? If you
are able to produce such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then
please state what this period of time is.
c) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there has been no transactions on each account and no contact from
the clients holding those accounts for 15 years? If you are able to produce
such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then please state what
this period of time is.
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d) Are your systems able to produce a report identifying a list of accounts
where there have been no transactions on each account and no activity on
another account held by the same customer for 15 years? If you are able to
produce such a report in respect of a shorter period of time then please state
what this period of time is.
e) If your answer to the first part of the question in either 19 b), 19 c) or 19 d)
is no, please state an estimate of the cost to amend your systems to be able
to produce the reports set out in b), c) and d) and the time that it would take
to implement such a change?
f) If there is any other information about your systems which would be
relevant to a decision on the proposed implementation time as set out in the
transitional provisions please give comments?